“It’s sad. I mean why didn’t the cops pick up on this before?” a neighbor asked.

Police told CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis they just got the tip late last year from a neighbor. They said they checked the building’s electric bill and found it to be sky high. So after weeks of surveillance, officers moved in with a search warrant, arresting three adult males and shutting down a 50-pound a month operation that netted $250,000 every 30 days.

Facing charges are Brian Munoz, 24, Victor Reyes, 23, and Diego Reyes, 25, all of the Bronx. They each were hit with one count of criminal possession of marijuana, one count of criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the first degree and criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree.

CBS 2’s John Slattery said there were no sleeping quarters inside, but the building fostered the perfect environment for growing the plants. There was an elaborate set-up of water and air filtration systems, plus heat lamps. Slattery reports that the drugs were allegedly packaged on the top floor.

Neighbors in the area said they were surprised and never suspected anything.

Police remove marijuana after a raid on a five-story building in the Bronx. (credit: Al Jones, 1010 WINS)

“It just looked like it was a mechanics every time I walked by,” said Ricardo Morales.

“That’s crazy…because I used to walk past this every single day. I live down the block on Garfield,” said Maria Candelaria. “Never even smelled nothing come out from this place.”

The confiscated bags will all go to a lab for testing and then, eventually down the line, will be destroyed.

“Good, good. I mean there’s no mistake that it is obviously marijuana,” a neighbor said.

The pungent smell is a dead giveaway, but still the question remains: who’s behind this major marijuana machine?

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